ISLAMABAD, July 21: Pakistan told Britain on Saturday that it had done its best and there was nothing more it could unilaterally do to end the standoff with India.
“Islamabad has already taken measures that it could take to ease tensions and it is not prepared to do more,” was the message conveyed to the visiting British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw here on Saturday,” said officials privy to the talks held between the two sides.
Talking to Dawn on Sunday, senior government officials said Pakistan pointed out that it had already given a “big strategic concession” and it was now for the international community to bring India to the negotiating table to address the core issue of Kashmir.
Jack Straw and other senior British officials present during the discussions were told point-blank that Pakistan had done its utmost to promote peace and the ball was now in India’s court, sources said. That India should be asked to act with sincerity and do more than taking measures that were self-serving, cosmetic and half-hearted, they added.
Pakistan made it clear that it was not willing to make any new commitments on any account, said a well-placed source.
Other government and diplomatic sources told Dawn that apart from some bilateral matters, issues of cross-border terrorism, dismantling of militants’ infrastructure, military de-escalation and elections in occupied Kashmir figured in the talks led by Minister of State Inamul Haq and Jack Straw.
On the question of Indian allegations of cross-border terrorism, the British secretary was told that they were baseless. He was reminded by the Pakistani officials that even the US Secretary of State Colin Powell had recently acknowledged that Pakistan had taken all possible steps to block the LoC infiltration.
